News

John Deer

Renishaw had been surviving the recession well until March of this year, when it axed a quarter of its 2,000-strong workforce in the face of a slowdown in demand for its high-tech measuring equipment. It was a blow to Deer, 71, a co-founder of the group in 1973 with Sir David McMurtry (qv). Ten years later, the pair floated the Gloucestershire company on the stock market. Deer's stake is worth £34m. Past dividends and other assets, including the 200-acre Oakgrove Stud, opposite Chepstow racecourse, take him to £44m.